Waltzing with Brando

{{Infobox film

| name = Waltzing with Brando

| image = Waltzing with Brando poster.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Bill Fishman

| producer = {{plainlist|

Bill Fishman
Billy Zane
Dean Bloxom
Doug Dearth
Brett Kerr

}}

| screenplay = Bill Fishman

| based_on = {{Based on|Waltzing with Brando: Planning a Paradise in Tahiti|Bernard Judge}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Matei Bratescot

| cinematography = Garrett O'Brien

| editing = Michael Yanovich

| production_companies = Filmin'Tahiti

| distributor = Iconic Events Releasing

| released = {{Film date|2024|11|30|Torino|2025|9|19|United States{{cite web|title=‘Waltzing With Brando’, Starring Billy Zane As Brando, Gets North America Deal — Cannes Market|url=https://deadline.com/2025/05/waltzing-with-brando-billy-zane-brando-us-release-september-1236399332/|last=Wiseman|first=Andreas|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=May 15, 2025|accessdate=May 15, 2025}}}}

| runtime = 104 minutes{{cite web|url = https://www.fandango.com/waltzing-with-brando-2024-238667/movie-overview|title =

Waltzing with Brando (2024)|website = Fandango Media|accessdate = December 24, 2024}}

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

}}

Waltzing with Brando is a 2024 American biographical drama film directed by Bill Fishman and starring Billy Zane as Marlon Brando, alongside Jon Heder, Richard Dreyfuss, Camille Razat, Alaina Huffman, Tia Carrere, and James Jagger.

Premise

The film is set primarily from 1969 and 1974, during which Marlon Brando was preparing to star in The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris whilst making plans with Bernard Judge to create a paradise getaway on Tahiti.{{cite web|url= https://variety.com/2019/film/news/billy-zane-as-marlon-brando-in-waltzing-with-brando-1203105744/ |date= January 11, 2019|title=

Billy Zane to Play Marlon Brando in Indie Movie 'Waltzing With Brando' (EXCLUSIVE)|first=Stewart|last=Clarke|website=Variety|accessdate=15 May 2024}}

Cast

Billy Zane as Marlon Brando
Jon Heder as Bernard Judge
Richard Dreyfuss as Seymour Kraft
Camille Razat as Michele
Alaina Huffman as Dana
Tia Carrere as Madame Leroy
James Jagger as Zeke Knight
Rob Corddry as Jack Bellin
Sofia Masson as Maria Schneider
Woody Fu as Alec Ata
David Guierera as Francis Ford Coppola
Jessica Rizo as Sacheen Littlefeather
Charles Venturi as Bernardo Bertolucci

Production

The film is written and directed by Bill Fishman and adapted from the memoir Waltzing with Brando: Planning a Paradise in Tahiti by Bernard Judge.{{cite web|first=Jeff|last=Sneider|url=https://collider.com/billy-zane-marlon-brando-movie/|title= Billy Zane to Play Marlon Brando in Indie Movie 'Waltzing With Brando' |date=11 January 2019|website=Collider|accessdate=15 May 2024}} The film is produced by Fishman, Billy Zane, who also stars, and Dean Bloxom. Principal photography took place mainly in Tetiaroa, where Marlon Brando and Judge tried to introduce sustainable architecture and practices.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/05/billy-zane-marlon-brando-photos-waltzing-with-brando-1235916942/|title= Breaking Baz @ Cannes: First Look At Billy Zane Channeling Marlon Brando In 'Waltzing With Brando'|first=Baz |last=Bamigboye|accessdate=15 May 2024|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=May 15, 2024}}

Billy Zane was interviewed about playing the role of Marlon Brando in the film in January 2019 and described how he was not previously "aware of his passion for environmental rights, which was so prescient and so timely" and that he "wanted to celebrate the man for being a forward-thinker" and that he was "interested in teaching people about him in a way that they're not familiar while still mining the drama”.{{cite magazine|title= Billy Zane on searching for superstar 'contradictions' (and the right wig) to play Marlon Brando|first=Joey|last=Nolfi|date=January 17, 2019|url=https://ew.com/movies/2019/01/17/billy-zane-marlon-brando-waltzing-with-brando/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|accessdate=15 May 2024}}

The New York Post reported that the producers were at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024 looking for a buyer for the film.{{cite web| first=Eric|last=Todisco|url=https://nypost.com/2024/05/16/entertainment/billy-zane-transforms-into-marlon-brando-in-biopic-photos/|title=Billy Zane transforms into Marlon Brando in first look at 'Waltzing with Brando' biopic|date=16 May 2024|accessdate=17 May 2024}} In November 2024, Jon Heder, Richard Dreyfuss, Camille Razat, Alaina Huffman, Tia Carrere, and James Jagger were revealed to have joined the cast.{{cite web|first=Alex|last=Ritman|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/waltzing-with-brando-billy-zane-trailer-1236201058/|title='Waltzing With Brando' Trailer: Billy Zane Transforms Into 'Godfather'-Era Marlon Brando as VMI Boards Sales for AFM (EXCLUSIVE)|date=November 5, 2024|accessdate=November 5, 2024|website=Variety}}

Release

Waltzing with Brando premiered at the closing night of the 2024 Torino Film Festival, on November 30, 2024.{{cite news|url = https://people.com/see-billy-zane-transform-into-marlon-brando-in-first-trailer-for-waltzing-with-brando-8739955|title = See Billy Zane Transform into Marlon Brando in First Trailer for Waltzing with Brando|last = Speakman|first = Kimberlee|date = November 5, 2024|accessdate = December 24, 2024|work = People}} The film will be released theatrically in the United States on September 19, 2025, by Iconic Events Releasing.{{Cite web |title=‘Waltzing With Brando’, Starring Billy Zane As Brando, Gets North America Deal — Cannes Market |url=https://deadline.com/2025/05/waltzing-with-brando-billy-zane-brando-us-release-september-1236399332/ |access-date=June 13, 2025 |website=Deadline}}